Watch cricket video highlights of West Indies tour of Sri Lanka 2024. First one day international between Sri Lanka and West Indies. Venue of the match will be Pallekele.
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A 137-run partnership between Charith Asalanka and debutant Nishan Madushka laid the foundation as Sri Lanka easily chased down a DLS-adjusted total of 232 at Pallekele, taking a 1-0 series lead. Asalanka led the way with a 71-ball 77, followed by Madushka’s 69 off 54. Both went unable to complete the chase, but given their dangerous starting position (45 for 3 in the seventh over), they had done more than enough to secure the victory. Kamindu Mendis helped seal the victory with an undefeated 30 off 21, while Janith Liyanage added an 18 on the run.
The visitors’ best bowler was left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie, who took three wickets for 47 runs. Alzarri Joseph took two. Despite having increased their spin reserves in anticipation for a dry Pallekele surface, none could match Motie’s penetration. While Motie also averaged more than six runs per over, he did represent a wicket-taking danger. This was not something Roston Chase and Hayden Walsh Jr. could boast about, as they handed up 80 runs in their 10 overs combined.
While this was due to a mix of poor bowling and merciless batting, the West Indian spinners were also hampered by a damp ball as a result of the moist outfield. The rain had also made the pitch easier to bat on by the time Sri Lanka took over the wicket. Earlier, Sherfane Rutherford’s comeback was cut short by rain, bringing the West Indies innings to an early end at 185 for 4 after 38.3 overs. Even with that limitation, Sri Lanka’s attitude to the chase earned them a well-deserved victory.
Madushka, making his debut in place of the injured Pathum Nissanka, started the batting alongside Avishka Fernando, but Sri Lanka were already two down as he faced his fifth ball in ODI cricket. Avishka hit a wide delivery straight to point, while Kusal Mendis, who had looked in fine form with three early boundaries, top-edged an attempted pull. This sent Sadeera Samarawickrama to the crease, and he lost no time in seizing the initiative, striking Jayden Seales for three boundaries in the chase’s sixth over.
With rain impending, Sri Lanka’s strategy was clear: get ahead of the DLS equation. But when Sadeera went, thanks to an absolute beauty from Motie that hit back off stump, Sri Lanka were suddenly on the verge of letting the game slip into perilous area, despite the fact that they could bat till No. 9. If those watching were anxious, Sri Lanka’s skipper didn’t let it show. He swiped Motie for four on the second delivery he faced, then driving him brilliantly through the covers the next over.
Madushka, who had previously been willing to pass the strike to his more aggressive teammates, finally hit his maiden boundary in the tenth over. As the West Indies fought to maintain precise lines and lengths, this pair barely let up. Sri Lanka scored 72 runs between the 10th and 20th overs, with only two overs being without a boundary. And the scoring continued to speed from there, with 41 runs scored between overs 20 and 25.
Madushka ultimately edged to slip, with Asalanka following shortly after stuck leg before – both off Motie – but the needed run rate had reduced to roughly four per over by that stage, and any danger had long been eliminated. The West Indies’ greatest phase of the game had come considerably earlier. Prior to the rain, they were on the verge of reclaiming some lost momentum, with Rutherford and Chase putting up an 85-run fifth-wicket stand over 78 deliveries. Wanindu Hasaranga had taken two wickets, while Jeffrey Vandersay and Asalanka had one each.
However, after winning the toss and electing to bat on a dry Pallekele wicket, the West Indies knew a spin trial was almost certain. Dunith Wellalage was on the attack as early as the fifth over, and medium pacer Liyanage had already turned to offcutters on a hard length, with spin coming from both ends not long after that. Despite a strong opening stand, West Indies quickly fell to 54 for 3, with Rutherford joining Keacy Carty in the middle and the scoring pace averaging around four per over.
During this time, Sri Lanka’s spinners grabbed complete control, while the West Indies were willing to play it safe, piling up several dot deliveries and picking up the odd one or two. Rutherford’s four in the 17th over was the first West Indies boundary in 47 deliveries; at the typical midway mark of 25 overs, they were 94 for 3. Carty, exasperated, unleashed a tremendous one-handed loft over long-on for six to break the shackles, but his satisfaction was short-lived as he tumbled while attempting to duplicate the effort the very next delivery.
That brought a stop to the West Indies’ 46-run partnership, their greatest of the innings up to that time. But with Chase by his side, Rutherford persisted as usual, plucking off singles and hoping to capitalize on any odd wayward deliveries. However, as their confidence rose and a steady rain lubricated the pitch, the pair scored 43 runs in the final five overs. With the death overs to come, a total of about 275 was expected. But then the rain arrived.
